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zenzi2read's reviews
675 reviews
And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
With a few small changes, I could see this novel being the first book and the successful private eye series. In someways, that’s what this feels like. We get a great deal of background on our private eye while she attempts to solve a twisty mystery. And someways there’s too much background to serve the mystery justice.
The missing person case isn’t handled with enough care or focus. We’re introduced to our client and then quickly introduced to a large group of secondary characters, interviewees, and associates. All of these people lack enough character development to be engaging. They’re mostly just names and a physical trait. It makes it very difficult to differentiate one character from another or to understand who is important in the greater story.
Great deal time is given to flashbacks of life before becoming a private investigator. I’ve seen other thrillers do this, but normally the story from the past runs in parallel in someway to the story from the present. They’re just worn enough points of similarity to make this feel like anything but a disruption.
I think this PI firm has an interesting focus, and our main characters life deserves a deep dive. I just think that too many threads were started here and given unequal focus. Although the mystery was super twisty, it just felt flimsy.
The missing person case isn’t handled with enough care or focus. We’re introduced to our client and then quickly introduced to a large group of secondary characters, interviewees, and associates. All of these people lack enough character development to be engaging. They’re mostly just names and a physical trait. It makes it very difficult to differentiate one character from another or to understand who is important in the greater story.
Great deal time is given to flashbacks of life before becoming a private investigator. I’ve seen other thrillers do this, but normally the story from the past runs in parallel in someway to the story from the present. They’re just worn enough points of similarity to make this feel like anything but a disruption.
I think this PI firm has an interesting focus, and our main characters life deserves a deep dive. I just think that too many threads were started here and given unequal focus. Although the mystery was super twisty, it just felt flimsy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Miscarriage
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, and Death of parent
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The content of this book is harrowing. This was a book club read for me and to be honest I avoided it because this is a reread and it’s exhausting. If racial and sexual violence are triggered for you I would avoid this entirely and read other Butler work.
But Butler’s talent is undeniable here. Some authors, write the same main character over and over again, putting them in different scenarios throughout their career. Each protagonist that Butler rights is different from the next Dana is sure of herself. Her journey here shows her how easily her strong, driven persona can be stripped when placed in the right scenario. I think it’s common for most people to assume what role they would play if they could impact the lives of slaves or were within the slaves system. The vivid images that Butler creates throw those assumptions out of the window. do you understand Dana’s terror, and you also understand each person’s attitude within this system.
I enjoyed watching the scenario play out. At the beginning of the book Dana states that all of this takes place during a month of her current timeline, but within years of the past, and you feel that time as you read this book, watching Dana and Rufus journey was uncomfortable, but compelling, and adding her husband, Kevin into the story add another complex dimension
But Butler’s talent is undeniable here. Some authors, write the same main character over and over again, putting them in different scenarios throughout their career. Each protagonist that Butler rights is different from the next Dana is sure of herself. Her journey here shows her how easily her strong, driven persona can be stripped when placed in the right scenario. I think it’s common for most people to assume what role they would play if they could impact the lives of slaves or were within the slaves system. The vivid images that Butler creates throw those assumptions out of the window. do you understand Dana’s terror, and you also understand each person’s attitude within this system.
I enjoyed watching the scenario play out. At the beginning of the book Dana states that all of this takes place during a month of her current timeline, but within years of the past, and you feel that time as you read this book, watching Dana and Rufus journey was uncomfortable, but compelling, and adding her husband, Kevin into the story add another complex dimension
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Dementia, and Death of parent
The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I needed to read a middle grade book for a reading challenge. I was concerned about getting forward by subject matter designed to be suitable to younger ages, but this was entertaining and had enough action and suspense to keep me interested throughout.
I think this is a heartwarming book with enough danger and tension to keep younger audiences excited without overwhelming them with subject matter. That’s too adult. I think this author does a good job of creating a plot that has challenges for each character to meet and obstacles for everyone to overcome without being too traumatic.
I love the stress on the importance of community, history, and diversity. The book respects the people of Harlem and each character is from a different culture and social economic group and family structure. I think that a lot of young people will identify with these characters and enjoy the journey.
I think this is a heartwarming book with enough danger and tension to keep younger audiences excited without overwhelming them with subject matter. That’s too adult. I think this author does a good job of creating a plot that has challenges for each character to meet and obstacles for everyone to overcome without being too traumatic.
I love the stress on the importance of community, history, and diversity. The book respects the people of Harlem and each character is from a different culture and social economic group and family structure. I think that a lot of young people will identify with these characters and enjoy the journey.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent
God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not giving this book a lower rating because Joe was a unlikable main character. I’m giving it a lower rating because I don’t think that that wasn’t intentional.
Thomas, as an author, in my opinion, sees Joe as a self sacrificing hero. I do not. This type of literary fiction should have a character that feels somewhat introspective, and I prefer that the character be at some sort of crossroad where they need to make some choices to change the pattern of their lives.
Instead, Joe is stuck in a poor motorcycle. He and his friends bitching about child support and sleeping with their vindictive baby mothers because she might take it out on him or the kids.
I found his poor me text threads with friends to be pathetic. He simply too old to have an unexamined life. In the course of this book, I think I thought more about his decisions and explored his motivations more than he ever attempted to.
I can’t quite call this a deep character study. The things that we know for sure about Joe are that he is depressed oversexed and exhausted. I kept thinking OK now what. I never received the answer.
What this book does get right is the culture of violence and Philadelphia. I think some people would read this book and think the fact that he works in the hospital and his constantly seeing friends going in and out of the emergency room or ending up dead as a bit too coincidental or exaggerated. I lived my whole life and unfortunately that’s not true. This is the part of the book that fell grounded.
I also would’ve liked more concentration on his dissertation. He referenced some books that I’ve read, including Acres of Skin and I think that some readers might not realize that the experiments conducted at the prison and some of the sided books that Joe uses are real occurrences.
Thomas, as an author, in my opinion, sees Joe as a self sacrificing hero. I do not. This type of literary fiction should have a character that feels somewhat introspective, and I prefer that the character be at some sort of crossroad where they need to make some choices to change the pattern of their lives.
Instead, Joe is stuck in a poor motorcycle. He and his friends bitching about child support and sleeping with their vindictive baby mothers because she might take it out on him or the kids.
I found his poor me text threads with friends to be pathetic. He simply too old to have an unexamined life. In the course of this book, I think I thought more about his decisions and explored his motivations more than he ever attempted to.
I can’t quite call this a deep character study. The things that we know for sure about Joe are that he is depressed oversexed and exhausted. I kept thinking OK now what. I never received the answer.
What this book does get right is the culture of violence and Philadelphia. I think some people would read this book and think the fact that he works in the hospital and his constantly seeing friends going in and out of the emergency room or ending up dead as a bit too coincidental or exaggerated. I lived my whole life and unfortunately that’s not true. This is the part of the book that fell grounded.
I also would’ve liked more concentration on his dissertation. He referenced some books that I’ve read, including Acres of Skin and I think that some readers might not realize that the experiments conducted at the prison and some of the sided books that Joe uses are real occurrences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and War
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Transphobia
At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
David Diop it takes the band of Brothers/surviving the horrors of war story device in a completely new direction.
He explores the demands of war. The way that a soldier’s asked to be hyper violent – an action that demands a certain amount of insanity – but to have some control and decorum over violence and insanity is meted out.
Can someone who has seen done and experienced what these men have returned to any type of normalcy?
The ending didn’t quite work for me, but the middle was amazing.
He explores the demands of war. The way that a soldier’s asked to be hyper violent – an action that demands a certain amount of insanity – but to have some control and decorum over violence and insanity is meted out.
Can someone who has seen done and experienced what these men have returned to any type of normalcy?
The ending didn’t quite work for me, but the middle was amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, and War
Minor: Torture and Xenophobia
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was the type of book that made me feel like I was the character.
Despite the fact that Baxter‘s job is repetitive monotonous and exhausting there are a few story threads that maintain the tension and anxiety.
This book contains subject matter that go quickly become depressing. The racism, homophobia, and isolation could make this a devastating read, but Mayr find ways to avoid the trappings of some historical fiction featuring black men characters while making it realistic. I could tell that this book was well researched.
Despite the fact that Baxter‘s job is repetitive monotonous and exhausting there are a few story threads that maintain the tension and anxiety.
This book contains subject matter that go quickly become depressing. The racism, homophobia, and isolation could make this a devastating read, but Mayr find ways to avoid the trappings of some historical fiction featuring black men characters while making it realistic. I could tell that this book was well researched.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Police brutality
The Shadow by Melanie Raabe
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I felt like the pacing of this was way off. The characters were a bit too underdeveloped for the amount of time that we spent in their presence with no plot, moving forward.
The premise was interesting enough. I love the idea of knowing how a story will end and then essentially working backwards. But that type of storytelling takes a very crafty author that knows how to hold a reader’s attention, even though the outcome is already determined. I don’t feel that this author was up to that task.
There were things I liked about the story. The device was fun and the investigation was uneven, but interesting although we didn’t learn a lot about our main character we did gain an understanding of her motivations and her strong belief injustice determined her actions.
The premise was interesting enough. I love the idea of knowing how a story will end and then essentially working backwards. But that type of storytelling takes a very crafty author that knows how to hold a reader’s attention, even though the outcome is already determined. I don’t feel that this author was up to that task.
There were things I liked about the story. The device was fun and the investigation was uneven, but interesting although we didn’t learn a lot about our main character we did gain an understanding of her motivations and her strong belief injustice determined her actions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw by Eddie Ndopu
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.0
The title of this memoir suggest a subversive joyful memoirist. Unfortunately, that’s not what I found on the page.
This memoir largely covers The period of time from Eddie’s acceptance to Oxford and immediately after completing his term – less than two years.
What Eddie describes is the disruptive nature of ableism and how he must dedicate much of his energy to advocating for his care in a somewhat hostile environment. What’s missing is the joy and excitement and celebration of this success that the title suggests.
He mentions offhand that he was class president while at Oxford, but doesn’t share any of the successes In the role. He mentions a meeting with President Obama due to his humanitarian work but fails to explain what the nature of the humanitarian work is. Also, his friends seem to be extremely wealthy, intellectuals and artists. We don’t get a look at his charismatic side or his intellectual side. Do they like him because he tells good jokes? Or maybe his astute takes on politics? None of that is shared.
I don’t feel like I received any other facets of his personality, besides self advocacy. It made for monotonous read.
This memoir largely covers The period of time from Eddie’s acceptance to Oxford and immediately after completing his term – less than two years.
What Eddie describes is the disruptive nature of ableism and how he must dedicate much of his energy to advocating for his care in a somewhat hostile environment. What’s missing is the joy and excitement and celebration of this success that the title suggests.
He mentions offhand that he was class president while at Oxford, but doesn’t share any of the successes In the role. He mentions a meeting with President Obama due to his humanitarian work but fails to explain what the nature of the humanitarian work is. Also, his friends seem to be extremely wealthy, intellectuals and artists. We don’t get a look at his charismatic side or his intellectual side. Do they like him because he tells good jokes? Or maybe his astute takes on politics? None of that is shared.
I don’t feel like I received any other facets of his personality, besides self advocacy. It made for monotonous read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Medical trauma
Minor: Homophobia
The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Although Koomson generally writes thrillers, this has the pacing and character development of literary or contemporary fiction and the slow building unease of a suspense novel.
The character development is done in an interesting way. You meet these women as fully form, but in perfect adults and receive occasional flashbacks to the past. This allows us to see a full circle journey for each woman and gain a better understanding of their current motivations for actions that would otherwise seem Illogical
I think this is an interesting take on the revenge trope. These two women with a similar past creeping towards a collision course kept me interested. It’s a large book, but I was never bored.
Some of the suspense did resolve itself along before the end and I think that that will be a decision. The author made that will frustrate some. For me, I enjoyed the story enough to stick with it. That does mean that the last quarter of the book doesn’t hold much in the way of tension.
Ultimately, I like the character development and worldbuilding and interpersonal relationships described in the novel and would recommend it
The character development is done in an interesting way. You meet these women as fully form, but in perfect adults and receive occasional flashbacks to the past. This allows us to see a full circle journey for each woman and gain a better understanding of their current motivations for actions that would otherwise seem Illogical
I think this is an interesting take on the revenge trope. These two women with a similar past creeping towards a collision course kept me interested. It’s a large book, but I was never bored.
Some of the suspense did resolve itself along before the end and I think that that will be a decision. The author made that will frustrate some. For me, I enjoyed the story enough to stick with it. That does mean that the last quarter of the book doesn’t hold much in the way of tension.
Ultimately, I like the character development and worldbuilding and interpersonal relationships described in the novel and would recommend it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Murder
Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Veil took her time meticulously creating each character on the page. Each person had a full backstory and a personality and experiences that may their actions understandable. Although much of the book is character development ultimately that serves the story well.
The supernatural portion of this story draws heavily on the sibling relationships, and the trauma that they experienced together and alone. I think this was an excellent foundation for the story. Discussing this aspect further would be a light spoiler, but I do think that this is unique enough to set this book apart from others using similar plot devices.
The suspenseful part kept me guessing, but the pacing for me was off. This book isn’t especially long, but it feels long at some point. I liked the interpersonal relationships and the strong voices of the characters. The part of me thinks that there is room to remove some of it and increase, the pace to something more medium than slow.
There are parts of this book that feel like a fever dream. This is the type of book that sometimes feels like a movie the writing was very descriptive and they were times when reality was very thin.
The supernatural portion of this story draws heavily on the sibling relationships, and the trauma that they experienced together and alone. I think this was an excellent foundation for the story. Discussing this aspect further would be a light spoiler, but I do think that this is unique enough to set this book apart from others using similar plot devices.
The suspenseful part kept me guessing, but the pacing for me was off. This book isn’t especially long, but it feels long at some point. I liked the interpersonal relationships and the strong voices of the characters. The part of me thinks that there is room to remove some of it and increase, the pace to something more medium than slow.
There are parts of this book that feel like a fever dream. This is the type of book that sometimes feels like a movie the writing was very descriptive and they were times when reality was very thin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, and Police brutality